A MEDICAL CONDITION THAT MAKES YOU FEARLESS
At least in fiction, we might have come across people with superpowers. And every superhero movie has at least one of these terms in frequent repetition; genetic mutation, gamma rays, radiation, and brain malfunction. Well, most of these fictions are actually rooted deep in scientific expeditions; genetic mutation, even though very rarely, can impart some specific ‘abilities’ to the patient. There are a handful of psychological and neurological disorders that can make you a ‘superhero’ of some sort (obviously, not without its disadvantages), which we will discuss at another time. Here is a brief description of a medical condition that can make you fearless, quite literally.
The name of the disease is urbach-wiethe disease. And how rare is it? Well, there are a little less than 300 reported cases. There are symptoms of the disease that might be disturbing or even fatal at times. However, the defining feature of the disease is the calcification of the amygdala. Amygdala is a part of the limbic system. In a brain image, you can locate this almond-shaped clusters of nuclei in either side of the brain, medially and deep within the temporal lobe. How does the damage of this very small structure in our brain affect our behaviour?
The most studied subject with Urbach-wiethe disease is probably SM blithely from America. She had no other prominent symptoms of the disease other than the damage in her amygdala. Cognitively, she was in no way different from a normal subject, she was as intelligent as any other. But what she lacked was certain emotional aspects- to be more accurate, she seemed to have no fear in her list of emotions. She could be happy, sad, or excited even. But no external impulse could ever evoke a fear response in her. This observation along with a load of other related researches led to the conclusion that the amygdala played a very important role in the expression and comprehension of fear response. But it was hard to believe that one single brain structure had this much power over a very basic human emotion. Most of our emotions are made possible by the interaction of various brain structures and their associative activities. Whereas, the emotion- ‘fear’ appears to be almost completely residing in the amygdala of the limbic system.
Researchers did try to evoke fear in SM in a variety of ways. She was made to visit a haunted house in the US. She was very excited and even poked a staff member dressed as a monster, but never felt an ounce of fear. She was later brought to an exotic pet shop with poisonous snakes and other reptiles. She admitted to not like the creatures beforehand. But as she got to see them in person, she was fascinated by the creatures and frequently asked permission to touch and hold them. Once, she was attacked by a thug in the street who had a knife to her throat. She was still fearless, she wasn’t strong enough to protest or anything. But after, she was released, she didn’t run, she just calmly walked away. And she still takes the same route from her office to her home, alone in dark.
Researchers also believe that amygdala is related to memories of emotion. Some patients with Urbach-wiethe disease also exhibit an inability to process facial expressions associated with negative emotions. Whether these symptoms work to their advantage? Most often, it doesn’t. We feel fear because of the probability of being hurt or be in danger. For people without fear, these warnings are inaccessible and might lead to troublesome situations. We are afraid of a raging bull because we know that it has the strength and opportunity to hurt us. We are afraid of driving a sportbike without a helmet because we know that it is dangerous. Yes, it might help us to overcome our fear to address a large audience or ask a girl out on a date. But, fear isn’t something we should be afraid of. Most of the time, fear is what ensures our survival.
But, why in the world were you afraid now???
